1. Field of the Invention
This invention is in the general field of educational materials, and more particularly in the field of textbooks.
A conventional textbook contains text material for a student to study. When such a book is used as part of a course of study, the student will learn, not only from the book, but also from interaction with the teacher and from quizzes and examinations. The student receives, from the teacher and from the examinations, feedback on what he has learned and on what he has not learned. Such feedback is an essential part of the learning process. A student who attempts to learn a subject from a conventional textbook without feedback from the teacher or from examinations generally does not learn as much or as well as does a student who has the benefit of such feedback.
In recent years, educators have sought to provide a means whereby the student can obtain feedback directly from the textbook itself. Such feedback complements the feedback which the student receives from the teacher and from the examinations. In addition, students who must study without the benefit of a teacher can learn the subject faster and more thoroughly by using a textbook which provides feedback on what the student has learned.
2. The Prior Art
One kind of textbook which gives a student feedback on how well he has learned the text material is called a "programmed instruction" textbook. A textbook written using programmed instruction presents new material a little at a time and then quizzes the student on what he has just learned. By quizzing the student after he has studied each little bit of new material, and then giving immediate feedback, the learning process is enhanced.
The physical arrangement of a programmed instruction text consists of one or more sentences of text followed by one or more questions about the subject matter of the immediately preceding text material. The student answers the questions by handwriting the answers into the book. Then the student checks his answers.
In some programmed instruction texts, the student must turn to a different page in order to check his answers. In others, the answers are printed on the same page as the questions, and the student must always keep the "answers" part of the page covered until he is ready to check his work.
The system of programmed learning as just described has several drawbacks. First, the textbook can only be used once, because once the student has marked his answers in the book, the book is permanently defaced and then no other student can use the book. Even if a pencil is used, it is not possible completely to erase the answers, and the next person to use the book can see how the previous reader answered the questions.
In addition, both methods for checking answers are clumsy. There is a need for the student to be able to study a programmed text without having to keep part of the page covered all the time, and without having to keep skipping back and forth from one page to another every time it is necessary to check answers.
Also, when a student uses such a programmed learning text, once he has made one attempt to answer a question he is given the correct answer and then gets no further benefit from that particular question. If, on the other hand, when the student made a wrong first choice he were to be told only that his first attempt was wrong, he could still benefit from further study and from trying to figure out the correct answer from the remaining choices.